The Ending is What Matters
by OUAT-Rocks4ever
Summary: This is an AU CaptainSwan fic. Emma kept her son, Killian is cursed like everyone else, and Emma finds her way to Storybrooke a few years earlier than expected. What happens when Emma and her son meet these faitytale characters including Killian Jones?
1. Chapter 1

_Hello everybody! I am going to try writing a OUAT fic and see where it goes. I have only written one story before (for Charmed) and it was a few years ago, so my writing wasn't very good. Hopefully it's better now- I really didn't want to go back and read it because I know the writing is bad and I didn't want to be cringing lol Anyways, I am not a native English speaker, so I hope the grammar and fluidity are ok. And here we go!_

_Basically this is an Au fic where August left Emma the money and she was able to keep Henry after going to jail. In this story his name is Bryce instead of Henry (because I'm not a big fan of that name) and he is turning 5 years old. It's also another take on the what if Killian was cursed like everyone else and Emma gets to Storybrooke a bit earlier than expected. Really hope you like it!_

* * *

"Mommy, I don't wanna go there!" little Bryce complained for the third time, as he attempted to free his hand from his mother's tight hold and stop their rushed walk simultaneously. He was mad at the moment because really, who needed school? He would much rather stay home and play. But of course, his mother would never listen to him when it came to these things. "Pleaaase mommy!" he begged once again; that had to have sounded sweet, right?

"Hey, today is your last day young man. Remember?" Emma answered as she finally halted their walk and bent down to his eye level -without letting go of his hand of course. She didn't need him running off on her again. Talk about embarrassing, trying to run after your kid in front of a bunch of other parents. Just thinking about it made her cringe. "And then you get the whole Summer off to do whatever you want," she smiled trying to get her little boy in a good mood. "We can even stay up late and watch Peter Pan." That almost brought a smile to his face, Peter Pan was his favorite movie. But then he looked up to see the school in front of him. Nope, he still didn't feel like going in.

"But I wanna stay with you and help you pack," Bryce answered putting his best puppy eyes and cute little pout to the works. He could tell it wouldn't work this time, but at least he tried.

Emma only smiled at seeing his efforts and swooped him up into her arms earning her a big laugh that she would never get tired of hearing. "Come on big boy," she said walking up to the the school, "let's get your last day of preschool over with. Then when you get out, we're going to get some ice cream," she said kissing his head.

"With m&m's?" Bryce asked as he looped his arms around her neck.

"Mmm hhm"

"And sprinkleees?"

"Yeah"

"And chocolate chips?!" Bryce exclaimed. He had to give it to his mom; ice cream was his weakness. Not fair!

"Anything you want on it," Emma smiled as they finally made it to the entrance of the school where teachers were waiting for the students. She put Bryce on the ground and gave him a quick goodbye kiss on his forehead. He kissed her right back and ran off to one of the teachers, ready to get the day over with so he could get his ice cream.

* * *

Emma took her time walking back to her apartment in Tallahassee. She was admiring the green trees around her, breathing in the fresh air. It was time to move on. They had been here for almost 5 years, and he had never come to look for them. She guessed it was naive to think he ever would. Why would he? He had called the cops on her and left her to pay for his crime. She had just made herself believe that maybe it had all been a mistake, that maybe there had been some kind of misunderstanding and he would be waiting for her in Tallahassee- the place they had decided would be their home. He had left her the money and the car after all, but she guessed she would never know what happened. It was time to put that notion to rest and leave it in the past. Just as she had done with her parents. They had left her on the road to die and didn't care to ever look for her. Nobody ever wanted her; that's why she wanted to believe so bad that Neal did love her and would never leave her. But she was destined to be alone- she had finally learned her lesson. The only person who loved her unconditionally was her son. She would never trust anyone again. It would always be her and her son against the world.

She would go home, finish getting everything ready, and then she would get Bryce from school so they could leave. They would start fresh somewhere else; In a place where she wasn't reminded of her past and where she wasn't left hoping for something that would never happen. She hoped they could find a small town with a good school for Bryce and a good job for her. She had enough savings to last them a while but she was going to have to start looking for something as soon as they got settled somewhere.

Now where would they go? She really hadn't put much thought into it-she just had to get away from this place. All she wanted was to get in her car with Bryce (and a few of their belongings) and drive away. Thankfully they didn't have very many things. She felt relieved when she thought of all those times when Bryce's constant pleading for extra toys hadn't made her give in. She loved the kid, but she didn't want to spoil him rotten, and she couldn't either because she had to save money anyways.

She was also glad that she had traded her Bug for a bigger car with four doors rather than two. She loved the Bug and it held sentimental value to her. But she had a little boy who needed a car seat, and it was a pain in the butt having to get the thing inside and then try to get Bryce in there. So she had done what was best and let it go, and now she was letting go of Tallahassee too.

* * *

"This is yummy." Bryce sat on a bench next to Emma, enjoying his chocolate ice cream covered with sprinkles, m&m's, and chocolate chips. It had taken a while, but they had finally made it to the ice cream place and the park. Bryce had wanted to go right after school, but his mom had made him eat actual food first. He was ok with the food but then the vegetables came and he hated those. As usual he had refused to eat them at first, but like always they somehow ended up in his mouth no matter what he did.

"So where would you like to go?" Emma tried. She was enjoying her ice cream too, but she really needed to get an idea of where to drive off to. She was thinking New York-it would be a hell of a drive but for some reason it really called her attention. Although, it was a big city and she was hoping for a small town...

"Uhh... I wanna live in Disneyland!" Bryce exclaimed, his eyes bright with wonder and his chocolate smeared mouth turned into a smile. "Can we go live there mommy?"

"I don't think so sweetie," Emma laughed. Her son always came up with the weirdest and funniest ideas. The first time she had mentioned the idea of moving from Tallahassee, he had asked if schools existed in other places because he wanted to go to a place with no schools. "How about you tell me your favorite letter?"

"OK," Bryce said as he furrowed his eyebrows and let his eyes wonder trying to think of his favorite letter. He looked at the almost gone ice cream in his right hand. It was his favorite treat, but he didn't know how to spell ice cream. "Mmm, it's not s mommy," Bryce mentioned. "I don't like the letter s because school starts with s."

"Oh yea?" Emma questioned amused at her son's reasoning.

"Yea... ummm M is my favorite letter!" Bryce went back to his ice cream feeling proud of his selection.

"And what makes M so special?"

"Because you're mommy, and mommy starts with M," Bryce answered. "You're my favorite person."

Emma felt her eyes sting with tears and her heart melt at hearing Bryce's words. It meant so much to her to hear someone say that she was their favorite person. Even more so, when it came from the one person she loved the most. She did her best to blink her tears away and put a smile on her face. "Well then we're going to Maine. You know why?" Bryce shook his head, looking intently at his mother. "Because you're Bryce, and Bryce ends with E," Emma smiled. "You're my favorite person," she said taking him in for a big hug.

Maine seemed perfect. It started with M and ended with E. Mom and Bryce.

* * *

_So this was the first chapter. I really hope you liked it! Killian and Storybrooke will be showing up next chapter. I'm not sure who Killian will be just yet for this cursed version of him. I was thinking of making him the school principal or the sheriff. We'll see._

_Please leave any suggestions you might have, and I hope the spelling and grammar were not too bad! I will update as soon as the next chapter is written :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you so much for your reviews, follows, and favorites! It makes me very happy to receive feedback! I'm also very glad you guys liked my idea. _

_1994Omi asked if Emma had a degree and what kind of job she had, and my answer to that will be in the next chapter. Hopefully you guys like that idea! (I got inspired by House, for those who have watched it) I also decided that Killian will not be sheriff. He's going to work either at Bryce's school or with Emma- not sure which one yet. _

_And I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

It was dark when they finally crossed the border to Maine. Bryce was fast asleep in his car seat, in the back, and Emma was very tired herself. She was going to stop for the night at the first hotel she saw. It had taken them a while to reach their destination- more so because Bryce couldn't sit still for very long. They had to be stopping for bathroom breaks, eating breaks, and just random breaks here and there whenever Bryce got restless. And of course she didn't like driving through the night, so they had to be staying at hotels through out the way. It had almost made her rethink her decision of going all the way up to Maine, but none of the places they had been through seemed right so she decided to continue.

It was only 8:15 pm, but the roads were very lonely and dark- it was almost as if there were only woods and trees ahead of her. She didn't want ponder on the fact much because it was kind of creepy, and if she kept thinking about it, she would only scare herself. She had seen a few horror movies before and ... and yea, she needed to stop her thoughts from going there. She quickly shook her head and glanced at her rear view mirror. Looking at Bryce's peaceful face made her fears go away. Her sweet little boy was loving their "adventure" as he liked to call it. He loved sleeping in different places every night, eating out all the time, and seeing new things and people. The only thing he didn't like was being stuck in the car for extended periods of time, and unfortunately for Emma , she had to put up with the never ending "are we there yet?" and "I want to get to get out!" complaints. But what else could she expect from her very hyper son? At least he had his Peter Pan book, which kept him entertained for long periods of time.

As Emma's thoughts went back to the dark road she was currently on, she finally spotted what looked like a sign ahead of her. That was good; it meant there had to be a town near by. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was close enough to read the sign. It said "Welcome to Storybrooke." Frowning, her mind went to the map she had bought as soon as they had decided Maine would be their destination. She didn't remember seeing the name Storybrooke among the many places on it. It must be a very small town if it didn't even register on the map. It did seem like it was in the middle of nowhere after all.

Emma continued driving into the town, scanning the sides for any sign of a hotel or inn, or anything really. Maybe some houses or establishments that didn't make it look like she was driving into a ghost town. She kept driving for a few more minutes until she finally saw a lit up sign for an inn- A "Granny's Bed and Breakfast Inn," to be more specific. That would have to do for the night, she didn't really feel like driving anymore. They could always explore the town further in the morning- when there were people walking around and not everything was so quiet. She quickly turned in the direction of the inn and hoped there was a room available for them. Although, it wasn't like the town was overpopulated or a tourist hot spot; at least that's not what it looked like to her.

As soon as Emma turned off the ignition, she quickly opened the door and got out of the car. She closed her eyes and breathed in the cool night air as she stretched her limbs for a few seconds. It felt so good. Opening her eyes back up, she took a moment to look at her surroundings. There were a few other buildings and shops, but what caught her attention the most was the giant clock tower ahead of her. She read the time on it- 8:15 pm. "That's weird," Emma mumbled to herself as she remembered it had been that exact time a while ago when she was still driving through the woods. Not paying much attention to it, she went to open the back door to the car. She tried her best to get Bryce out of his car seat without waking him up. He stirred for a bit but went right back to sleep once he was in his mother's arms.

As soon as Emma opened the door to the inn, she was met with two loud voices arguing about something. She could hear the words "Boston" and "heart attack" thrown around but when she set foot inside the two women (one old and the other young) abruptly stopped. The older woman who she supposed was "Granny" from the name of the diner/inn, quickly came to help her while the younger one just stood behind. They both seemed surprised to have a guest from out of town, which was a bit weird, but they seemed nice enough. So deciding that they weren't some kind of "bad people" who were going to hurt them or kidnap her son, Emma decided to stay.

* * *

"Mommy, I'm hungry!" Bryce jumped on Emma's stomach, immediately waking her up. "I wanna eat pancakes," he said pulling one of her hands, attempting to get her out of bed, "with chocolate chips."

Groaning, Emma slowly sat up. "It's too early honey," she yawned as she pulled her arms over her head, stretching her muscles. She had slept so good last night that it made her want to stay in bed and sleep all day. But the little person who was now standing by the bed, waiting impatiently for her, would most definitely not let her.

"It's not early mommy, it's really late," Bryce said as he walked over to the nightstand where Emma's phone lay. "Look, it's really late." He handed Emma her phone- He couldn't actually read the time, but he knew that's where his mom always checked the time. And he was hungry, so it had to be late already.

Emma took her phone and pushed the power button to see what time it really was. Her screen lit up, and the numbers 7:15 came up. "Uggh, Bryce! It's seven, that's too early," Emma said as she flopped back on the bed. "Let's sleep some more ok?" she suggested as she turned to her side and attempted to grab one of Bryce's hands. He quickly pulled away before she could reach him and went to stand by the door. Seeing that she really had no other option, Emma sighed and got out of bed causing Bryce's face to light up in a smile. Mission accomplished- he was getting his pancakes!

"You really like to make me suffer, don't you kid?" Emma asked when she saw his big smile. Bryce's only response was to start giggling at seeing his mother so grouchy. "Come on then, we have to brush our teeth first," she smiled taking his hand. Who would've thought? she was always the one who had a hard time getting him out of bed, not the other way around.

"Are we playing the game?" Bryce asked once they were in the bathroom.

"Of course we are!" Emma handed him his toothbrush with toothpaste on it, and then went to grab hers. "Whoever lasts longer... gets extra chocolate chips on their pancakes!"

"I'm gonna win!" Bryce laughed excitedly, holding up his tooth brush.

"Ok, one..two.."

"three!" Bryce finished, as he started to brush his teeth.

Of course he was going to win- she always let him...

* * *

"I have to admit, these are the best pancakes I have ever tasted," Emma said as she hungrily swallowed her pancakes. Bryce only nodded happily as he put a big piece in his mouth. They were sitting on the bar because Bryce had insisted they sit there. There weren't many people in the diner, but the ones that were there seemed pretty normal. Even the town seemed like a normal small town- nothing to do with how it seemed yesterday in the dark.

Emma had ordered them chocolate chip pancakes (Extra chocolate chips for Bryce) and a hot chocolate with cinnamon. It seemed Bryce had inherited her love for the drink. The waitress, Ruby, was very nice as was Granny. In fact, they had both fallen in love with Bryce and he had no problem with it since it meant getting extra treats.

"Excuse me, but you're sitting on my seat," someone suddenly said.

At hearing the cold and stern voice, both Emma and Bryce looked up. There was a woman, probably in her late thirties with short brown hair and brown eyes, standing by them. She was staring at them intently, waiting for them to move and free her seat.

"Oh, sorry but last time I checked this was a public place without a seating chart," a confused Emma answered.

"Well, I come here every morning and eat my breakfast on that seat where he is sitting at," the woman replied glaring at Bryce. He, however, just kept looking back and forth between his mom and the mean lady.

"Good to know. And today my son and I are sitting here and eating our breakfast. There are a lot of empty seats; you should branch out and try one them," Emma said waving her hands at the empty chairs for emphasis.

"You must not know who I am, Miss whatever your name is. Which can only mean one thing; you're new here. Now please tell me, what are you doing here in my town?" the woman asked as she crossed her arms and became more defensive by the minute.

"Emma, my name is Emma Swan. And as far as I know you don't own the town, so what I'm doing here is none of your business," Emma replied trying to stay calm.

"Miss Swan I am the mayor of this town, and if I were you I would take the kid and go back to where I came from," the woman threatened.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma asked as she stood from her seat. She hated arguing in front of Bryce, but this lady was sure getting on her last nerve and she was not going to let her step all over her.

"Whatever you want it to mean," the woman said as she gave them a death glare. Bryce responded by sticking out his tongue at her. "And I suggest you teach your brat some manners," she said as she turned and left the diner in a speedy walk. Emma just sighed and sat back down on her seat. She really didn't want to look around the diner. Everyone would for sure be staring at her.

"I see you have met our dear mayor Regina Mills," a thick accented voice said.

"What, are you going to threaten us too?" Emma asked as she played with the leftover food on her plate, no bothering to look up.

"No love. I was simply wanting to cheer up a beautiful lass" the man replied, with the hint of a smile in his voice.

"I'm not your love." Emma finally decided to look up at the man. She stood still for a few seconds, just staring at his deep blue eyes. She had to admit, they were very gorgeous and he wasn't too bad looking himself. "And thank you, but no thank you," she said getting her thoughts back on track "I don't need cheering up from a stranger."

"Oh come on love. Let me give you my name then," he replied smiling. "And I'll even buy the little lad an ice cream."

"I want ice cream mommy!" Bryce turned to Emma.

"I told you I'm not your love!" she said to the man, and then turned to Bryce."And no you already had enough chocolate," she said grabbing a napkin to clean his mouth. "Come on, let's go." She took Bryce from his seat and put him on the floor. That Regina Mills had put her on a bad mood; she just wanted to get out of there and get some fresh air. She didn't need a random stranger flirting with her.

"Another time, maybe? The name's Killian by the way," the man tried as Emma took out a bill from her wallet and put it on the table.

Emma rolled her eyes and grabbed Bryce's hand, "I don't think so, have a good day." With that, she walked out of the diner. But Killian still heard Bryce's small voice trying to reason with his mother. "But whyyy? he was a nice stranger mommy!"

He only smiled at this.

As Emma and Bryce hurriedly made their way out of the diner, they bumped into someone else. This caused the other person's coffee to be spilled all over their shirt...

* * *

_Please leave reviews and suggestions if you have any! Really hope you guys liked this chapter. I know there wasn't a lot of Killian/Emma interaction, but we'll get there. I'm trying to take things slowly :)_


	3. Chapter 3

_So this has taken a while, but nevertheless; the update is here! I was on vacation for a while, and then it took another while to get back my inspiration for the story. Thanks to those who have Favorited, followed, or reviewed the story. Hope you guys like this chapter! (even though it is shorter)._

* * *

'_Crap_' Emma thought when she felt herself colliding with another body. This was all she needed after having a bad encounter with the bitchy mayor, and then having the random stranger flirt with her. Today was so not her day. "I am so sorry," Emma said as she quickly moved her body away from the other person, checking to make sure they were okay. It seemed the person she had crashed with was another woman- one who seemed way nicer than the mayor. She had dark hair with a pixie cut, very fair skin, and a warm smile on her face. She didn't even seemed fazed by the fact that she would now be sporting a stain- she simply wiped the coffee from her pink sweater.

"Oh don't worry about it," the woman responded in a very sweet tone. "It's a very small stain, and it's not like it has never happened before." Emma just stared at her for a while. '_Talk about optimism.'_

"No, I really should have been paying more attention to where I was going." Emma moved away from the door to lean against the wall; Bryce's small hand still clutched in hers. There was something about this woman, she just could not discern what it was. She seemed familiar somehow.

"Really, it's okay." The woman moved away from the door as well, one hand holding her cup of coffee while the other covered the spot on her shirt. "I'm Mary Margaret, by the way... Are you new? I don't think I've seen you here before."

"Yea, I am. I'm Emma," she responded holding out her hand, which Mary Margaret instantly took with a smile. "It's nice to meet you Emma."

"Nice to meet you too." The moment they shook hands, Emma felt a warm feeling- something she could not explain. The woman standing in front of her was a total stranger, yet she found herself very comfortable with her. Like she could trust her with anything.

"Is this your little boy?" Mary Margaret asked as she knelt down to Bryce's level. "Yes," Emma smiled, nudging Bryce who for some reason was acting shy. She gently grabbed his hands and attempted to get him off her legs. "say hi to Mary Margaret, Bryce."

The little boy stared at the woman with wonder in his eyes. She was very pretty and had the sweetest smile ever. "Hi," he said after a while.

"Hi! You're so cute. And very shy," Mary Margaret answered as she squished one of his cheeks. This only cause Bryce to smile and go back to hugging his mother's legs.

"He's really not," Emma said. "he's usually very outgoing and hyper. I can barely get him to sit still for more than a few minutes."

Mary Margaret gave the little boy a smile as she stood back up. "Yea, but kids react differently to meeting different people. It all depends on how they feel about the person."

Emma nodded her head in response. "Do you have any kids?" The other woman quickly shook her head no. "No, but I'm an elementary school teacher, so I work with kids all the time."

"A teacher, huh?" Emma was about to make another comment, when Mary Margaret's eyes suddenly went wide and she started digging furiously through her purse.

"Sorry, it's just I need to check the time because I have to be at the Hospital in a few minutes." she explained. Once she found the object she was looking for- her phone- she quickly checked the time and put it back inside. "Looks like I only have ten minutes left, I better go inside and grab something really quick."

"Yea, sure... It was nice meeting you." Emma wondered if Mary Margaret had someone sick at the Hospital. Should she ask her? She didn't want to seem insensitive. "Is everyone ok? The person you're visiting?"

Mary Margaret was confused at first, but then it dawned on her that Emma didn't know she volunteered at the Hospital. "No... I don't have anyone there... Well there are people there who I visit, but I'm just a volunteer," she explained. "I like to go and read to the patients or help out however I can."

"Oh ok, I'm glad to hear that," Emma said relieved. "I'm a nurse, and I used to work for a Hospital back in New York. Some patients don't have anyone to visit them, so it's nice of you to do that."

"Thank you," Mary Margaret replied as she moved one of her hands to open the door to the diner. "Hey if you're going to stay here in Storybrooke, maybe I could help you find a job at the hospital, " she said, the hope evident in her voice. She really didn't know why, but she really wanted to help this woman anyway she could. There was something special about her, she just didn't know what it was.

"That would actually be great," Emma said a bit surprised by the offer. "Thanks and sorry about the coffee and the shirt again," Emma said pointing at the brown stain on Mary Margaret's pink sweater.

"Like I said, don't worry about it- It'll come off once I wash it... And I guess I'll see you around then?" she asked.

"Yea, see you around," Emma answered as she looked down at her son. "Say bye, Bryce." The boy smiled at Mary Margaret and waved his hand. She waved back enthusiastically and finally went inside the diner.

"She looks like Snow White mommy," Bryce whispered, not wanting anyone to hear him.

"Snow White?" Emma asked in disbelief, trying not to laugh and wondering how he had come up with such conclusion. Bryce only nodded furiously as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"If you say so... How about we explore the town some more and see who else we meet, huh?" Emma said, grabbing his hand and leading the way.

"Can we go to the park?" Bryce asked as he started jumping up and down. "And then to get ice cream!"

"sure," Emma smiled. This kid was seriously addicted to parks and ice cream.

* * *

Exploring the town had not been an easy feat to accomplish. It was fun at first- to see all the places in Storybrooke and meet new people who, for some reason, were surprised to see visitors in their town. They had even met a dog named Pongo. Bryce had absolutely fallen in love with him and had asked Emma if she could buy him one just like that. When she had said no, he proceeded to ask the dog's owner, Archie, if he would be so kind to give him the dog as a gift. That had given her a good laugh, at least for a few seconds, until Bryce found out he could not have the dog and started throwing one of his temper tantrums.

They had had gone almost everywhere. From the the candy shop to the library, from the animal shelter to a "Mr Gold's Pawn shop," and they had even passed by the sheriff's station. By the end of the day, they were both very tired. Especially Bryce, who had insisted his mother pick him up- the park and the ice cream completely forgotten. By this point, Emma decided they had enough of exploring and it was time to head back to the inn and rest.

The town had seemed strange at first, but after a while it felt comfortable, almost like it could be their home. Emma was deep in thought, not really paying much attention to where she was going. She held Bryce tightly against her chest and kept walking. She thought about all her encounters with all the different people. Most of them had been nice, except for the bitchy mayor of course. There was something about that woman that screamed trouble. But she would deal with that when the time came. And then Mary Margaret had been the exact opposite- so sweet and helpful. She could tell they would be really good friends.

Mr. Gold had given her a creepy vibe, especially after she had told him her name. It almost seemed like he had suddenly woken up with the way his whole demeanor changed and his eyes sparked up. She would probably try to avoid him as much as possible and never set foot back in his shop..

And there was also the cocky stranger who kept flirting with her- hopefully she wouldn't have to see him much. Although she probably would since Storybrooke seemed like a fairly small town where everyone knew each other.

_'That's not necessarily a bad thing,' _Emma thought as she neared the corner of the street. _'It's probably what-' _

Her train of thought suddenly stopped when she heard a loud screeching noise. She looked around trying to find the source of the noise. As she turned back to the front, she saw a black car heading straight towards her and Bryce. Her heart quickly sped up and her body froze. She didn't know what to do, there was no time. Was this how they were dying?

"Watch out!" a familiar voice yelled.

* * *

_Hope you guys liked the chapter! I know it was shorter, but I really wanted to get it out already lol Please leave a review and tell me what you think!_


End file.
